March 18, 2015

Teeny-Tiny New Yorkers!Christopher Mason led a team
that swabbed New York City's
subway stations and trains to uncover the microbes among us. The subway samples
(from turnstiles, poles, seats, ticket machines, and more) were sequenced for
DNA, revealing 637 known species of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and microscopic
animals. There were even some fragments of anthrax and bubonic plague. Eek! No worries though, those anthrax and plague bits weren't live, and most of the city's microscopic citizens are benign or even beneficial. Dr. Mason and his crew are using the data to create
baseline PathoMaps of the Big Microbial Apple. The PathoMaps of NYC and other cities could be used for "long-term disease surveillance, bioterrorism threat mitigation, and large-scale health management."

Get to know your microscopic neighbors and fellow travelers!

Before &
After

--Sway to
teeny-tiny grooves

--Imbibe our
cocktail of the night, the Third Rail

--Stick around
for the itty-bitty Q&A

Christopher Mason is assistant professor of physiology & biophysics and computational biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. In 2014, he was named one of Popular Science's Brilliant Ten, and he and his research have recently been featured in

Wired, the New York Times, NPR, and the PBS NewsHour. Next up? Dr. Mason is working on a project for NASA, comparing the DNA and RNA of astronauts (and twin brothers) Scott and Mark Kelly--after Scott spends a year in space.

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, March 24, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave, R to 9th St.

The Secret Science Club is curated by Dorian Devins, Margaret Mittelbach, and Michael Crewdson. Dorian Devins is an NYC-based jazz singer and lyricist, and the former host of WFMU's “The Speakeasy.” Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson write about nature in the strangest of places; they are co-authors of Carnivorous Nights and Wild New York.